Hi, I have Saturn sl1 1996 single cam. I had my radiator replaced a few months ago and ever since my car overheats. The trouble is the fan does not turn on unless I turn on the ac. My mechaic replaced the fa motor ad some sensor but the problem persists. Any ideas?
Can you give me some history on why the radiator was replaced? Did the engine overheat?
The sensor is (I hope) the temp sensor. The fan should run when the engine temp rises and when the AC is engaged. And the shop should have confirmed that it was operating properly before returning the car to you.
You need a new shop. Diagnosing this problem is not rocket science and should be easily diagnosable. You’be got the temp sensor, the fan, and the fan relay.
The reason I asked about the engine is because of the possibility of a nad headgasket (from overheating) contributing to the problem. Again, this is easy to diagnose and the shop should have determined whether it was or was not a problem.
Hi and thanks for your speedy reply. The radiator was replaced because it was damaged and leaking. The head gasket was replaced last year. Before that I never had a problem with overheating. When I am driving and I notice the temp gauge getting hotter than normal I simply turn on the ac, hear the fan go on and the temp quickly drops.
You need a new shop.
Turning on the AC and having the engine cool down, combined with your having visually confirmed that the fan only runs when the AC is on, indicates that the ability of the radiator to dissipate the heat is A-okay and your headgasket is liekly okay but the fan simply isn’t working based on the engine heat. This is not rocket science to fix. It’s a check of the temp sensor and the relay.
The car should not have been returned to you this way. The shop should have verified that the fan was working properly and the engine was not overheating before calling the car “fixed”.
Thanks for your sound advice and super-fast responses. I am truly grateful, may God Bless!
You are truely welcome. Perhaps your friends and/or coworkers can point you in the direction of a better shop.
Sincere best.
Look behind the radiator and see if you have one fan or two. If two, then turn on the AC and see if both fans run. If there are two and only one runs, then, the most likely problem is that the mechanic forgot to plug in one of the fans when he replaced the radiator. There may be more than one connector between the fan motor and the fan relay.